2 comments:

The shortfall (just the 75 year) one rose nearly 1.2 trillion. That is a breathtaking sum. It is more than the system collected in revenue. This means that we could have lowered benefits to zero for the entirety of 2016, and the system would have been in worse shape at the end of the year than it was at the start.

TheHill had a column yesterday or the day before that suggested that the improvement in the system's prospects were related to the delays in the claims processing.

I'm not sure the Hill column is right, though it would be interesting if it was. I believe (based on a Steve Goss presentation at AEI a couple weeks ago) that DI APPLICATIONS were down sharply.An increased processing backlog would reduce the DI rolls, but shouldn't have much (or any effect) on applications.

About me

I am a Resident Scholar at the American Enterprise Institute in Washington, where my work focuses on Social Security policy. Previously I held several positions within the Social Security Administration, including Deputy Commissioner for Policy and principal Deputy Commissioner. Prior to that I was a Social Security Analyst at the Cato Institute. In 2005 I worked on Social Security reform at the White House National Economic Council, and in 2001 I was on the staff of the President's Commission to Strengthen Social Security. My Bachelor's degree is from the Queen's University of Belfast, Northern Ireland. I have Master's degrees from Cambridge University and the University of London and a Ph.D. from the London School of Economics and Political Science. I can be contacted at andrew.biggs @ aei.org.